Comedian Louis C.K. made headlines in June when he announced tickets for his fall stand-up tour would be sold exclusively through his website. Rolling Stone speculated that the artist-controlled model might offer a new way of doing business for traveling entertainers of all stripes. But Travis Janovich, the founder and CEO of Morrisville-based Etix.com Inc. — the ticket platform C.K. uses to process sales — isn’t so sure the comedian’s gambit signals a sea change.

SunEnergy 1 LLC, a Mooresville-based solar-panel installer, has taken advantage of the spike in solar-energy tax breaks, with contracts jumping from about $50 million last year to an estimated $130 million in 2012.

The Charlotte energy sector, which President Barack Obama has repeatedly praised, features such behemoths as Duke Energy Corp. and Siemens Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Germany-based Siemens AG. But economic-development officials are quick to admit its biggest flaw: a lack of startups.

Because I’m a man prone to hopeless causes — that’s what growing up an Atlanta Falcons fan will do for you — I have oodles of sympathy for people who place their faith in the idea of a “green” economy.

I’ll start by noting this minor surprise: An immense amount of natural gas is thought to be in the ground beneath a patch of rural North Carolina, and nobody to date has evoked The Beverly Hillbillies.